PK Subban knows what a top-tier forward looks like. The former Norris Trophy winner spent his career competing against some of the biggest names in the game in the postseason. Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Patrick Kane, Nathan MacKinnon, Joe Thornton, you name them. He is fully qualified to tell the national hockey watching audience who is a dog and who is not.
During the second intermission of the Minnesota Wild’s Game 5 statement in their win over the Dallas Stars, Subban took ample time to inform the continent that Matt Boldy is, in fact, a dog.
Who can dare to debate this issue? This isn’t the boldness of three years ago, when Bill Guerin and the media held him accountable for playing (and looking) after a tough playoff series. This isn’t even the Boldy of last postseason, when he had a stellar performance with four goals and six points in Games 1 through 3, scoring just one goal and no assists in three consecutive losses as the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Wild.
This is a version of Boldy that is using all parts of his game. He’s lethal from the perimeter, but he’s also getting to the net. This is a bally trying to score dirty goals, mixing it around the net, and doing anything to beat Jake Oettinger. Even the two goals that have been called back were the result of his exhaustive effort on the crease to make something, anything, happen.
That’s what you do when you’re a dog. Eat ’em, Matt Boldy, woofwoofnumnumnum.
He may not be wearing the black eye that Brock Faber rocked during the series, but the small bruise on Boldy’s face is much more than that. In addition to the usual cross-checking, slashing exchanges and the usual extracurriculars of a playoff series, the Wild had a scare in Game 3 when Jamie Benn bowled the ball with a careless (but unnecessary) hit. The concussion spotter ruled Boldy out of the game for the remainder of the first, but Boldy was OK.
“Okay” probably isn’t the right word. He was on the ice, and he was angry. He observed Michael Jordan’s energy throughout the rest of the game, “and I took it personally”. He played the rest of Game 3 not just to beat Dallas, but to humiliate them. They had to wait until Game 4 for the first, but accomplished it on an uncharacteristic assist from Joel Eriksson one game later.
The Stars have no answer for Boldy in this series, except for the Wild power play, expect to fall at 1-17. Boldy made 7 shots last night, giving him a total of 28, which is tied with Jason Robertson for the most in the playoffs. The attack also continues continuously. The Stars have held Boldy to less than 4 shots in a game so far.
Additionally, Boldy has been an answer to Mikko Rantanen, one of Dallas’ top players. In 35 head-to-head minutes at 5-on-5 against Rantanen, Boldy has a 2-0 lead in goals and is controlling 61.3% of expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. Rantanen has been placed in an “even-strength” spot (coming in at a 4-on-4 where Dallas pulled Oettinger), and Boldy has been a big part of the mix to neutralize Dallas’ highest-paid player.
The Wild have had no shortage of heroics on their way to taking a 3-2 series lead, and all of their wins have been the result of team efforts. But Boldy’s talent and on-ice attitude have been just as big a reason for him being on the verge of advancing to the second round. Boldy showed the world he is a world-class talent with his first 40/40 season and Olympic gold medal in the regular season. Now he’s showing that he’s more than that. He is also a dog. Namnumnumnumnumnum.
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